Party Food for Girls

Party Food for Girls

From beautiful teapot biscuits to gorgeous marzipan roses, Japanese lunchboxes to kids’ sangria, whether you are cooking for a classy party or for a picnic, the easy step-by-step instructions and stunning photos will help you to create unique masterpieces in the kitchen! Seasoned Auckland food writer Alessandra Zecchini and her daughter Arantxa love to cook together and here they pass on their cooking skills and creative inspiration for parties. You are sure to impress your best friends with this delicious party food. SAMPLE RECIPES Teapot biscuits (pictured left) If you don’t have a teapot cookie-cutter, use the stencil at the back of this book and cut out your biscuits carefully with the tip of a knife. These biscuits look really special. 300 g sweet shortcrust pastry easy royal icing (see recipe on page 26) runny icing (see recipe on page 29) red, blue and green food colouring (optional) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry to 3 mm thick and cut out shapes with a teapot cookie-cutter (or use the stencil at the back of this book). Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for approximately 8–10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray. Make the royal icing (see page 26) and use it to fill a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle. Draw the outlines of your biscuits. Set aside for 1 hour to set. Store the rest of the royal icing in the bag, closing it with an elastic band so that it doesn’t harden – you will need it later. Make the runny icing (see page 29) and divide it into three containers. Add a drop of red food colouring to the first to make a pale pink icing; a drop of blue to the second to make a china blue; and a drop of green to the third to make a pastel green. Using a spoon, carefully drop a little runny icing onto each biscuit, spreading it evenly to cover the entire surface. Use a toothpick to spread the icing smoothly onto the handles and spouts. Leave to set for 2 hours. Finally, decorate your teapots with patterns (e.g. spirals, flowers, squiggles) using the remaining royal icing. Let the biscuits dry for 1 hour before serving. Makes approximately 20 biscuits Tips & variations You can use ready-made royal icing to decorate the outlines, if you prefer. This is available in small easy-to-use tubes from specialist stores and some supermarkets. Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes (pictured left) For the cupcakes 50 g dark chocolate 100 g butter 100 g sugar 3 eggs 1 drop pure vanilla essence 200 g self-raising flour For the topping chocolate ganache (see recipe further down) Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases. Melt the chocolate with the butter, either in the microwave or in the oven (while the oven is warming up for the cupcakes), then whisk with an electric beater. Add the sugar, keep beating, and add the eggs one by one, the vanilla essence and the flour. Divide the mixture between the 12 cases and bake for about 18–20 minutes. You can check if the cupcakes are cooked by inserting a toothpick into them; if it comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and leave to cool. Prepare the chocolate ganache. Refrigerate the ganache for 1 hour and then whip with an electric beater until it doubles in size. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a medium or large nozzle and pipe onto your cupcakes. Makes 12 cupcakes. Tips & variations These cupcakes are quite sweet and rich, so probably don't need any more sugar decorations. However, to add a touch of colour, cut out some pretty patterned paper in whatever shape you like and glue them over toothpicks to make little flags. Otherwise, just top with a fresh cherry or strawberry. Chocolate ganache 200 g dark chocolate 100 ml cream To melt the chocolate you will need to use a bain-marie. Place a metal or Pyrex glass bowl over a saucepan filled with water. The bowl should be a little bigger than the saucepan, so that no water or steam can escape and ruin the chocolate (or burn you!). Cube the chocolate and place inside the bowl with the cream. Slowly bring the water to the boil and simmer, stirring constantly with a small hand whisk or a spatula, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat, taking care with the hot water and escaping steam. Keep stirring the ganache as it cools down. Author Biography Alessandra Zecchini produced this book with the assistance of her daughter, Arantxa. Alessandra is the author of Sweet As … and Savour, published by New Holland. She is an active member of the Slow Food movement and her recipes and travel articles appear regularly in local magazines. This is her third book with Shaun Cato-Symonds, well known for his food photography, which has appeared in over 15 books and a wide range of food and lifestyle publications and campaigns worldwide.